Real Madrid C.F. 2009/10

Real Madrid have announced that they have agreed a deal with betting website BWIN to extend their shirt sponsorship deal for another three years.

Los Merengues' current agreement with the gambling giants was due to run out at the end of the current campaign and discussions have now born fruit, the club have reported on their official website.

The Austrian company replaced BenQ on Madrid's shirts in 2007 and pay the Spanish outfit between €15-€20 million per season.

That has now been extended until 2013 and will see Madrid earn at least €20m-a-year in revenue, which will help ease the club's debt of around €422m.

Madrid were unable to carry the BWIN name on their shirts for their opening Champions League game against Zurich and will not be able to when they visit France to play Olympique de Marseille later in the group stage.

Both the French and Swiss do not allow advertising by gambling companies unless they are state owned, though that law is soon to be changed in l'Hexagone.

Jaime wrote:

kas wrote:

Warlock says he's been paid to curse Real Madrid star Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo
Graham Keeley in Madrid

A Spaniard who describes himself as a professional warlock claims to have been hired to cast a spell on the former Manchester United footballer Cristiano Ronaldo.

Jose “Pepe” Ruz, 58, from Malaga, has written to Florentino Pérez, the president of Real Madrid — the club that paid £80 million for the Portugal international — to warn him that the hopes of millions of fans are about to be dashed. “I have been contracted so Cristiano Ronaldo suffers a serious injury. I can’t promise when that will be, but I can say he will be injured for more time than he plays,” he wrote.

Speculation has abounded in Spain over who might have taken out a black-magic contract on the star. Was it Sir Alex Ferguson, his former manager at Manchester United? Or Joan Laporta, president of Real Madrid’s rivals, Barcelona? Neither is a known practitioner of the dark arts — so is it one of the hapless defenders who will have to face Ronaldo in the coming season? Mr Ruz refused to name his client, other than to say that he or she was “famous and knows the player”.

Mr Ruz claims to have practised witchcraft for 22 years; a calling for which he says he is well paid. This time, however, he will have his warlock work cut out: the Portuguese winger has already scored seven goals in five games for his new club.

Real Madrid dismissed the threat. “It is a nonsense, like many things we have to deal with regularly,” a spokesman said.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article6854473.ece

Consider yourselves warned

Probably he will put a spell on Drenthe and TBW will break CR9s ankle in training. That's my guess anyway.

TM wrote:

Dick Grayson wrote:

TM wrote:

Is TRW TWW killing you my son???

Football Genius wrote:I notice Ronaldo often gets put upfront in your theoretical line ups, having only watched two Madrid games this season i'm not able to answer my question.

Do you guys see him as a Striker or as a right winger / Right / Left Forward?

Spoiler:

Torrente wrote:This is partly why I don't see the need for Pellegrini to play with 2 strikers, especially if he will play with 2 DMs. In Villareal the likes of Cani and Cazorla could operate well in deeper, more central positions when necessary. So the two DMs essentially combined with 2 other central players. Ronaldo and Kaka are clearly a lot more efficient when they are close to the goal, especially Ronaldo. So this is what creates the 4-2-4, which allows us to attack a fair amount but not to control games. I think teams like Chelsea would kill us if we played them at the moment.

So for me, there should generally be one of Granero/Guti/VDV in the field, while only one of Benzema/Higuain/Raul. If Pellegrini wants to play two of Benzema/Higuain/Raul, then he should take out Ronaldo.

At least this way there is a bit of consistency in the lineup so the rotations won't affect the team as much as they are at the moment. Sometimes we play with 2 central players, other times with 3. Sometimes we play we 3 forwards, other times with 4, etc.

This is looking too much like Benitez's rotation policy a few years ago. He kept changing 3-4 players and the shape of the team in almost every game, which made it very tough for Liverpool to get going. Rotating is fine, but there should at least be a fixed system that the players are in.

Jaime wrote:The best birthday present Torrente could have received:

Spoiler:

Torrente wrote:This is partly why I don't see the need for Pellegrini to play with 2 strikers, especially if he will play with 2 DMs. In Villareal the likes of Cani and Cazorla could operate well in deeper, more central positions when necessary. So the two DMs essentially combined with 2 other central players. Ronaldo and Kaka are clearly a lot more efficient when they are close to the goal, especially Ronaldo. So this is what creates the 4-2-4, which allows us to attack a fair amount but not to control games. I think teams like Chelsea would kill us if we played them at the moment.

So for me, there should generally be one of Granero/Guti/VDV in the field, while only one of Benzema/Higuain/Raul. If Pellegrini wants to play two of Benzema/Higuain/Raul, then he should take out Ronaldo.

At least this way there is a bit of consistency in the lineup so the rotations won't affect the team as much as they are at the moment. Sometimes we play with 2 central players, other times with 3. Sometimes we play we 3 forwards, other times with 4, etc.

This is looking too much like Benitez's rotation policy a few years ago. He kept changing 3-4 players and the shape of the team in almost every game, which made it very tough for Liverpool to get going. Rotating is fine, but there should at least be a fixed system that the players are in.

Torrente wrote:@Jaime

What you're saying is part of the point. If you have so many new players and they will obviously suffer from adaptation, etc., then you're only making things worse if you also keep changing the system every single game. We haven't had a single game in which the starting 11 hasn't changed with at least 3 new players, and on top of that the system has changed almost every time. I'm not expecting us to play champaign football of course, but the first halves against Tenerife and Marseilles are unnacceptable.

I actually think that last night Pellegrini put out one of his most coherent lineups. Unfortunately Xabi Alonso had a horror show while Guti played too deep, which once again had our lines too separated from each other. If Guti had performed his role as the enganche between Alonso/Gago and Kaka/Ronaldo/Benzema, it would have been a very different game.

Super Cassano wrote:

Torrente wrote:This is partly why I don't see the need for Pellegrini to play with 2 strikers, especially if he will play with 2 DMs. In Villareal the likes of Cani and Cazorla could operate well in deeper, more central positions when necessary. So the two DMs essentially combined with 2 other central players. Ronaldo and Kaka are clearly a lot more efficient when they are close to the goal, especially Ronaldo. So this is what creates the 4-2-4, which allows us to attack a fair amount but not to control games. I think teams like Chelsea would kill us if we played them at the moment.

So for me, there should generally be one of Granero/Guti/VDV in the field, while only one of Benzema/Higuain/Raul. If Pellegrini wants to play two of Benzema/Higuain/Raul, then he should take out Ronaldo.

At least this way there is a bit of consistency in the lineup so the rotations won't affect the team as much as they are at the moment. Sometimes we play with 2 central players, other times with 3. Sometimes we play we 3 forwards, other times with 4, etc.

This is looking too much like Benitez's rotation policy a few years ago. He kept changing 3-4 players and the shape of the team in almost every game, which made it very tough for Liverpool to get going. Rotating is fine, but there should at least be a fixed system that the players are in.

This is exactly why I was against getting Ronaldo and Kaka. Granero has to play as I see it or we will struggle to keep the ball well. I weren't particularly impressed with our performance yesterday but Marseille were smart and pushed their defensive line high. Without the red card we would have struggled more me thinks allthough I think we would still have won since we had the lead and we could counter.

Jaime wrote:

kas wrote:

Warlock says he's been paid to curse Real Madrid star Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo
Graham Keeley in Madrid

A Spaniard who describes himself as a professional warlock claims to have been hired to cast a spell on the former Manchester United footballer Cristiano Ronaldo.

Jose “Pepe” Ruz, 58, from Malaga, has written to Florentino Pérez, the president of Real Madrid — the club that paid £80 million for the Portugal international — to warn him that the hopes of millions of fans are about to be dashed. “I have been contracted so Cristiano Ronaldo suffers a serious injury. I can’t promise when that will be, but I can say he will be injured for more time than he plays,” he wrote.

Speculation has abounded in Spain over who might have taken out a black-magic contract on the star. Was it Sir Alex Ferguson, his former manager at Manchester United? Or Joan Laporta, president of Real Madrid’s rivals, Barcelona? Neither is a known practitioner of the dark arts — so is it one of the hapless defenders who will have to face Ronaldo in the coming season? Mr Ruz refused to name his client, other than to say that he or she was “famous and knows the player”.

Mr Ruz claims to have practised witchcraft for 22 years; a calling for which he says he is well paid. This time, however, he will have his warlock work cut out: the Portuguese winger has already scored seven goals in five games for his new club.

Real Madrid dismissed the threat. “It is a nonsense, like many things we have to deal with regularly,” a spokesman said.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article6854473.ece

Consider yourselves warned

Probably he will put a spell on Drenthe and TBW will break CR9s ankle in training. That's my guess anyway.

kas wrote:

Jaime wrote:

kas wrote:

Warlock says he's been paid to curse Real Madrid star Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo
Graham Keeley in Madrid

A Spaniard who describes himself as a professional warlock claims to have been hired to cast a spell on the former Manchester United footballer Cristiano Ronaldo.

Jose “Pepe” Ruz, 58, from Malaga, has written to Florentino Pérez, the president of Real Madrid — the club that paid £80 million for the Portugal international — to warn him that the hopes of millions of fans are about to be dashed. “I have been contracted so Cristiano Ronaldo suffers a serious injury. I can’t promise when that will be, but I can say he will be injured for more time than he plays,” he wrote.

Speculation has abounded in Spain over who might have taken out a black-magic contract on the star. Was it Sir Alex Ferguson, his former manager at Manchester United? Or Joan Laporta, president of Real Madrid’s rivals, Barcelona? Neither is a known practitioner of the dark arts — so is it one of the hapless defenders who will have to face Ronaldo in the coming season? Mr Ruz refused to name his client, other than to say that he or she was “famous and knows the player”.

Mr Ruz claims to have practised witchcraft for 22 years; a calling for which he says he is well paid. This time, however, he will have his warlock work cut out: the Portuguese winger has already scored seven goals in five games for his new club.

Real Madrid dismissed the threat. “It is a nonsense, like many things we have to deal with regularly,” a spokesman said.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article6854473.ece

Consider yourselves warned

Probably he will put a spell on Drenthe and TBW will break CR9s ankle in training. That's my guess anyway.

Credit to MD for spotting that the voodoo is working...Ronaldo doubtful for the weekend with that blow to his ankle last night

So Diawara is the witch doctor

kas wrote:

Jaime wrote:

kas wrote:

Warlock says he's been paid to curse Real Madrid star Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo
Graham Keeley in Madrid

A Spaniard who describes himself as a professional warlock claims to have been hired to cast a spell on the former Manchester United footballer Cristiano Ronaldo.

Jose “Pepe” Ruz, 58, from Malaga, has written to Florentino Pérez, the president of Real Madrid — the club that paid £80 million for the Portugal international — to warn him that the hopes of millions of fans are about to be dashed. “I have been contracted so Cristiano Ronaldo suffers a serious injury. I can’t promise when that will be, but I can say he will be injured for more time than he plays,” he wrote.

Speculation has abounded in Spain over who might have taken out a black-magic contract on the star. Was it Sir Alex Ferguson, his former manager at Manchester United? Or Joan Laporta, president of Real Madrid’s rivals, Barcelona? Neither is a known practitioner of the dark arts — so is it one of the hapless defenders who will have to face Ronaldo in the coming season? Mr Ruz refused to name his client, other than to say that he or she was “famous and knows the player”.

Mr Ruz claims to have practised witchcraft for 22 years; a calling for which he says he is well paid. This time, however, he will have his warlock work cut out: the Portuguese winger has already scored seven goals in five games for his new club.

Real Madrid dismissed the threat. “It is a nonsense, like many things we have to deal with regularly,” a spokesman said.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article6854473.ece

Consider yourselves warned

Probably he will put a spell on Drenthe and TBW will break CR9s ankle in training. That's my guess anyway.

Credit to MD for spotting that the voodoo is working...Ronaldo doubtful for the weekend with that blow to his ankle last night

So Diawara is the witch doctor

Jaime wrote:Robben se podría haber lesionado para varios meses

Varias semanas después de que el Real Madrid le traspasara al Bayern por 25 millones de euros, Arjen Robben se volvió a lesionar. Esta vez, puede que para varios meses, después de tener que ser sustituido anoche durante el Bayern-Juventus de Champions. El jugador holandés sufre un problema en una rodilla que, a falta de un análisis más exhaustivo, le podría tener varios meses apartado de los terrenos de juego.

"Creo que es una lesión grave, así me lo ha dicho Arjen", comentó Van Gaal, técnico del club bávaro, nada más finalizar el partido. "Veremos lo que dicen los análisis, pero si el futbolista me dice que es grave, yo le creo".

Si se confirma la lesión, Robben, de 25 años, confirmaría de nuevo su condición de futbolista de cristal. Las contínuas lesiones, musculares en su mayoría, han lastrado la carrera del extremo zurdo durante su estancia en el Chelsea y, posteriormente, en el Real Madrid.

http://www.as.com/futbol/articulo/robben-podria-haber-lesionado-varios/dasftb/20091001dasdasftb_25/Tes

Well, that didn't take long...

Calidad wrote:How has Marcelo been doing this season? I still think he'll be among the best in his position come 2-3 years. I love watching him play. He's always smiling, and is brimming with talent and enthusiasm for the game.

Torrente wrote:

Calidad wrote:How has Marcelo been doing this season? I still think he'll be among the best in his position come 2-3 years. I love watching him play. He's always smiling, and is brimming with talent and enthusiasm for the game.

I would say that he's the only player in the squad next to Albiol who hasn't had a bad game yet. He's ranged from solid to very good. Like you I always kept my faith in Marcelo from the very beginning, and every season he's kept progressing nicely. Given that he's only 21 he will definitely get a lot better. What makes it more significant he's been doing so well is that in Pellegrini's system the fullbacks are meant to provide the width, and I think Marcelo has been impressive in knowing when to attack and when to stay back.

However, Marcelo must still go through the big test of facing a very skillful attacker or winger bombing down his wing. This weekend he'll get such a test going up against Jesus Navas. It will be interesting to see how Marcelo does then.

Torrente wrote:

Calidad wrote:How has Marcelo been doing this season? I still think he'll be among the best in his position come 2-3 years. I love watching him play. He's always smiling, and is brimming with talent and enthusiasm for the game.

I would say that he's the only player in the squad next to Albiol who hasn't had a bad game yet. He's ranged from solid to very good. Like you I always kept my faith in Marcelo from the very beginning, and every season he's kept progressing nicely. Given that he's only 21 he will definitely get a lot better. What makes it more significant he's been doing so well is that in Pellegrini's system the fullbacks are meant to provide the width, and I think Marcelo has been impressive in knowing when to attack and when to stay back.

However, Marcelo must still go through the big test of facing a very skillful attacker or winger bombing down his wing. This weekend he'll get such a test going up against Jesus Navas. It will be interesting to see how Marcelo does then.

Effenberg wrote:Robben is only out 3-4 weeks. Hardly out of the ordinary. Plus, he twisted his knee, which has nothing to do with his particular physique.

Real Madrid 'keeper Iker Casillas has been voted the World's Best Goalkeeper in 2008 by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS).

The shot stopper, who played a major part in Spain's victory in the European Championships last summer, finished some distance clear of rivals Gianluigi Buffon and Edwin van der Sar.

The IFFHS asked a wide range experts from 85 countries to nominate their top four goalkeepers, with points awarded on a scale whereby the top-ranked 'keeper would receive four points and their fourth-ranked shot stopper received one point.

The top 10 ranked 'keepers were as follows:

1 - Iker Casillas: 249 points
2 - Gianluigi Buffon: 170
3 - Edwin van der Sar: 143
4 - Petr Cech: 108
5 - Igor Akinfeev: 23
6 - Jose Francisco Cevallos: 21
7 - Julio Cesar: 18
8 - Pepe Reina:15
9 - Jens Lehmann: 13
10 - Justo Villar: 12